I have noticed that some atheists have made blanket statements saying that the Bible doesn't contain any scientific facts. That is not true. Even though it isn't a "scientific book," the Bible does contain scientific facts. Many of these were written thousands of years before man discovered them, showing the supernatural fingerprint of God all over Scriptures. My apologies for the poor reformatting. They are taken directly from our tract "Science confirms the Bible" (www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=284):
1. THE BIBLE: The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). SCIENCE NOW: The earth is a sphere. SCIENCE THEN: The earth was a flat disk.
2. THE BIBLE: Incalculable number of stars (Jeremiah 33:22). SCIENCE NOW: Incalculable number of stars. SCIENCE THEN: Only 1,100 stars.
3. THE BIBLE: Free float of earth in space (Job 26:7). SCIENCE NOW: Free float of earth in space. SCIENCE THEN: Earth sat on a large animal.
4. THE BIBLE: Creation made of invisible elements (Hebrews 11:3). SCIENCE NOW: Creation made of invisible elements (atoms). SCIENCE THEN: Science was ignorant on the subject.
5. THE BIBLE: Each star is different (1 Corinthians 15:41). SCIENCE NOW: Each star is different. SCIENCE THEN: All stars were the same.
6. THE BIBLE: Light moves (Job 38:19,20). SCIENCE NOW: Light moves. SCIENCE THEN: Light was fixed in place.
7. THE BIBLE: Air has weight (Job 28:25). SCIENCE NOW: Air has weight. SCIENCE THEN: Air was weightless.
8. THE BIBLE: Winds blow in cyclones (Ecclesiastes 1:6). SCIENCE NOW: Winds blow in cyclones. SCIENCE THEN: Winds blew straight.
9. THE BIBLE: Blood is the source of life and health (Leviticus 17:11). SCIENCE NOW: Blood is the source of life and health. SCIENCE THEN: Sick people must be bled.
10. THE BIBLE: Ocean floor contains deep valleys and mountains (2 Samuel 22:16; Jonah 2:6). SCIENCE NOW: Ocean floor contains deep valleys and mountains. SCIENCE THEN: The ocean floor was flat.
11. THE BIBLE: Ocean contains springs (Job 38:16). SCIENCE NOW: Ocean contains springs. SCIENCE THEN: Ocean fed only by rivers and rain.
12. THE BIBLE: When dealing with disease, hands should be washed under running water (Leviticus 15:13). SCIENCE NOW: When dealing with disease, hands should be washed under running water. SCIENCE THEN: Hands washed in still water.
(1) Isaiah 40:22 does not say tha the earth is a sphere at all. It says "circle of the earth". A circle is not a sphere in any way shape or form. A circle is flat. Spheres are 3-dimensional. In other parts of the bible, it clearly confirms that the Hebrews believed the earth to be a flat disc.
Some evangelicals claim that the Bible contains at least three references to a spherical earth (Is. 40:22; Job 22:14; Prov. 8:27). But this is just wishful thinking and an obvious imposition of modern cosmology on the Hebrew world-view. The Hebrew word hug used here cannot be translated as sphere (which is rendered by a different word), but must again be interpreted as a solid vault overarching the earth. Therefore I follow the Anchor Bible translation of Is. 40:22: "God sits upon the dome of the earth." Job 22:l4 says that God "walks on the vault (hug) of heaven," again suggesting something solid. Hug can also refer to the circular perimeter of the sky-dome: "He drew a circle (hug) on the face of the deep...and made firm the skies above" (Prov. 8:27-28).
(2) Jeremiah 32:22 says "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me."
In the original Hebrew, it says HOSTS, not stars. In fact, the only place I found hosts translated as stars was in the Douay-Rheims Bible and the "God's Word Translation". I mean just read the context. It's clearly God telling him that he will have more descendants than there are grains of sand on the beach. "Hosts of Heaven" are clearly NOT stars. This is proven by other appearances of the phrase "hosts of heaven", where stars are referred to as separate things in the same sentence. (Deuteronomy 4:19). The original Hebrew words that are translated as "hosts" or "stars" (tsaba, machaneh, and chayil), actually mean things like "armies", "congregations", "large group of people", "band of individuals". IN fact, "chayil" refers to a whirlwind -- such as a sandstorm, where many individuals converge in a circular pattern.
(3) Job 26:7 reads "He stretcheth out the north over the empty space, and hangeth the earth over nothing." This does not say that the earth floats freely in space, and your suggestion that "science" back then said it sat on the back of an animal is incorrect. Only the Japanese myth had the earth on the back of a turtle. The Hebrews believed that the earth was a flat disc that rested on 4 pillars, above the plain of sheol. It was covered by a metal dome that had the stars on it. A "firmament" (Genesis 1:6) is a solid mass. There is a firmament on earth (land) and a firmament in heaven (a dome in which the stars were imbedded).
See Amos 9:6, Genesis 1:17, Ex. 39:3, Job 26:11, Job 22:8, Psalms 18:13
(4) Science does not say that the universe is made of invisible elements at all. Atoms are not invisible -- just hard to see without magnification. All of the forces described by nature are properties of matter. Matter is not described by any modern science as elements of invisible forces. Everything in science boils down to atoms, subatomic particles, and the loops of energy that make those particles.
(5) 1 Corinthians 15:41 does not say anything that cannot be observed by ancient people with the naked eye. It's not a great scientific discovery. Read it. It simply states that some stars are brighter than other stars -- that the "glory" or brightness of all stars is different. Anyone looking at the night sky can observe this. I don'tknow why you presented this as such a great scientific revelation.
(6) Job 38:19, 20 does not say that light travels. It says "Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home?" If you read the WHOLE PARAGRAPH, you see (in job 38:15) "Wicked people are deprived of their light, and the uplifted arm is broken" (the arm refers to their pride). This is not talking about literal light, as in photons. It is refereing to Knowledge or Glory. It's referring clearly to "the path of wisdom" or "path of glory", which one follows to get to heaven or glory.
(7) Job 28:25 -- This does not say that air has weight. It says WIND has weight or force. It's referring to the force of wind. As for what science said back then, can you even show me some "ancient science" that claimed that?
(8) Ecclesiastes 1:6 -- Is it such a stretch to imagine that Hebrews saw sandstorms, tornadoes, and other circular wind storms? I desert "Habub", which is a typical sandstorm form the middle east (we get them in Arizona, too), is a circular cloud of rotating sand, when you observe it from the mountains. I've seen these things tons of times in the southwest. As for "science" saying that wind blew straight, I'd like to see how you conclude that.
(9) Lev. 17:11) Not a great scientific revelation. People have been aware of the relationship between blood and life since before there was writing. Your characterization of science recommending draining of blood is misleading. Greek and Roman physicians bled people with fevers because they knew that blood pressure was related to body temperature. They felt that fevers meant that the body was imbalanced, and draining blood did reduce fevers. This had limited success, and in fact, it is being revived in modern medicine with the use of medical leeches under controlled conditions.
(10) 2 Samuel 22:17 -- this says "And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils." If you read the whole paragraph, it's referring clearly referring to a flood here. It doesn't say anything about there being valleys and mountains under the sea. It's referring to flood waters from the sea laying the earth bare.
(11) Job 38:16 -- There are no "springs" in the sea. The water in the ocean originated from ice melting on land, which flows as rivers to deltas, into the ocean. The volcanic vents do not produce water. The water around them super-heats and turns to steam, but it's not a spring in any sense that we usually use it.
(12) Lev.15:13 -- This is not referring to a disease! It's referring to a semen discharge. "And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean." I'm sure that modern medicine would not recommend waiting 7 days before bathing one's entire body (which is what it actually says) treating an issue (semen). Leviticus offers some really absurd advice for other things, though. Read the following, and see how absurd their medical treatments were:
Leviticus 15:1 - 12 tells us that if a man has a discharge of seed (not a disease!), we have to isolate him, nobody is allowed to touch him, everything he touches must be pronounced unclean, ifhe touches any clay pots, they have to be broken and thrown away. Does that make any sense?
This gets even more bizarre. Read on:
Leviticus 15:14 - tells us that after the cleansing above, the man has to get 2 turtle-doves, and give them to the priest. The priest then burns one, and the other is sacrificed in a different way (possibly similar to the "treatment" for leprosy" found in Leviticus 14. Read it -- apparently, if a Leper is cured, birds' blood is to be sprayed all over a person's house. Does that make any good sense to any of you?
Seriously, whoever came up with this list didn't actually read their own bible. All it took was just going to each of the chapters listed, and every one of these claims is shown to be false.
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